Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals and InquiriesUse this subforum for all requests as to "How much is this vintage bike worth?"Do NOT try to sell it in here, use the Marketplaces.

Hello all. I have a White/Silver Schwinn Premis that is completely original except for the handlebars, which were upgraded to the original triangular Profile Aero handlebars by the LBS prior to purchase.

I would post pics but the bike is in storage at my parents' basement. Perhaps I will make a trip there tomorrow and update the thread.

The bike has been ridden maybe a total of 5 times since I purchased it new. I bought it when I was in high school, and I bought it a little large, expecting I would grow into it. I was 5'6" when I bought it, and at 33, I am now... 5'6".

The bike is gorgeous. In fact I have thought of selling it several times in years past, but every time I would go and look at it hanging on the wall, I would simply admire it and convince myself that I didn't want to sell it. It really is a work of art.

Everything but the handlebars is original. It has the original white Suntour elliptical crankset and Shimano SIS shifter/derailleur and the original (black) suede seat. The Profile Aero handlebars are also white.

There is not one spot of rust anywhere on the bike. I didn't ride it much because it did/does not fit me. It has been suspended from a homemade carpeted bike rack in my parents' basement for around 20 years. My parents' house is humidity controlled, with a humidifier for the winter months and a dehumidifier for summer.

Anyway, what I am getting at is the thing looks like it came out of the catalog, save for the Profile Aero bars, which may be a plus or minus depending on the person. They are white and they look pretty snazzy on the bike IMO. The tape on them is teal to match the teal/purple accent on the bike. The brake levers are the original white ones that came with the bike. Probably not the levers that should be on a Profile Aero bar, but would make it easy to bring the bike completely back to stock condition if desired.

Recently I have moved, and everything is in biking distance now, so I am wanting to get a bike that fits me. If I could trade my Schwinn Premis for the exact same bike in the exact same condition, but smaller, I would. Unfortunately I don't think that is a possibility, so I am looking at selling the Premis and putting the money towards another bike. I don't think I will buy a new bike. I about collapsed from sticker shock the other day when I walked into the LBS where I purchased the Premis for the first time since I purchased the Premis, and saw what so-called entry-level road bikes were going for. Man I wish my Premis fit me.

So that's where I'm at. Normally with something like this I would list it on eBay and let the market decide what it's worth, but I get the impression that bikes and eBay don't go together too well since people prefer not to ship them, or buy them sight unseen. So it will probably go in the local Craigslist. I want this work of art to go into a good home, so I intend to set the price high and set it firm. Someone will have to really want this bike to own it. What should I ask?

Without pics, somewhere around $250 to $275 in super clean, ready to ride condition. Hard to break the $300 mark around here without brifters. The Premis is a nice bike, I have had the two bikes on either side of this model: a Tempo and a Prelude. Both were very nice bikes as well.

Its kind of a marginal bike to sell on ebay. Do you have spotless feedback including selling and shipping bikes? Are you proficient at efficiently packing and shipping a bike?

To me, if you had a rare, niche high end bike, then ebay is the way to go. And remember all of those darn ebay fees.

Craigs List can be pretty effective if you are in a good bike market. Good pictures and a well written ad are key of course.

Start searching for a smaller frame bike. The small vintage ones (19 inch) are hard to find. If you can fit on a 21 inch frame, they are pretty plentiful.

Wrk101, I had to look up "brifters." Neat idea, but I don't think they were around in the days of the Premis. So I have to assume that you are saying brifters are so desirable that you would want to put them even on vintage bike. Is that right?

I will be heading over to my parents' today and I will get some pics for the forum.

Probe, I would very much like it if the Premis fit me, but I don't think it is something the LBS can help with. The part that does not fit is the standover height. The only way I can think of adjusting that would be smaller wheels (platform shoes?), and I really don't want to break up the bike.

Thanks again for the replies. Considering I paid somewhere around $325 for the bike new, I am pretty happy.

No, I am saying that most downtube shifters bikes top out around the $250 mark around here, unless they are touring bikes. Buyers paying in the $300 plus range in general are looking for a more modern bike, one with brifters. So it is kind of the ceiling on good vintage bikes. Special vintage bikes, rare frames, some of the Italian bikes, etc. can and do sell for quite a bit more.

I personally would not put a set of brifters on a vintage bike for resale purposes, unless I got a really good deal on them. I am in fact putting a set of brifters on a Miyata right now. But it had a really bizarre mix of components (definitely not original) which would depress the value of the bike quite a bit. Even the wheels didn't match. And I got the whole groupo, including wheels, brifters, derailleurs, brakes, handlebars, stem, seatpost, etc. for a good (low) price. We'll have to see how I do on it.

Your bike probably needs a little basic TLC. Even sitting in a nice climate controlled area, the years can deteriorate tires, cables, and grease will harden up. But if you can't/don't want to do this work yourself, I would just clean it up really good, and knock the price down a little. If you took it to a bike shop, the cost of rehabbing it will exceed whatever extra you get out of it.

Note, these comments are without pictures, your bike might be in perfect condition as it sits. That would be great!

I had to air up the tires, but they hold air, and the Zefal hp/x pump worked fine. Has a Cannondale seat bag on it, and it still has the patch kit, innertube and tire levers in there from when I bought the bike new. Took it for a spin and it rides fine.

Also had a set of Sampson Stratics 675 pedals on it, but I put the original toe clips back on for the pic.

I have one more question for you bike gurus... Would the components from this bike fit this frame?

Seems to me if I can buy a frame for cheap, then there is no need to try and find a completely new bike just in order to get one that fits me. So far, none of the used bikes I have tried fit me any better than the Premis. Darn my short legs...

Most of them, except stem, headset, shifters, front derailleur (clamp size is wrong) and probably seat post. The Nashbar frame is for a threadless fork and made for brifters (there are no braze-ons for downtube shifters). You could use bar end shifters, but price them out, they are not cheap. That frame also does not include a fork, so you have to add that to your price.

Although that Nashbar frame is priced well, by the time you add shipping, a fork, and a stem to the equation, you will be getting close to (or over) what I see top end down tube shifter bikes going for. I really prefer buying complete bikes. A build up will nickel and dime you to death, unless you happen to have a workshop full of "free" spare parts. And then you have all the hassles of: this brake does not have enough reach, etc. By the time you complete the Nashbar frame, using all of your parts off the Premis, you probably could have found a good brifter bike for that money. And add to it that you just gave up half to 2/3 of the value of the Premis.

That Premis really looks sharp. I would sell it, and find a nice bike that fits.

And if you ever get tired of that Nashbar, or want to trade up, they have very little resale value (at least around here). They make nice stuff, but buyers are looking for name brand bikes.

That Premis is like money in the bank. It will hold its value/gain value from here on.

As wrk101 has mentioned its almost never financialy feasable to replace a frame due to an incorrect size.

If your somewhat good with wrenching I'd find a cheap replacement handlebar ($10 or so) and convert it back to drop bar style. Try selling it on CL once converted. Maybe $250-275 converted back.

If you want to be slick about it take off the seat and replace it with a $10 whatever seat and still list it for $250-275 on CL and re-sell the original seat on ebay. You'll get $50-75 for the seaton ebay.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm a bit proud of myself because after wrk101's reply, I decided to do exactly what Jim suggested. I've already lined up some drop bars from CL and will be picking them up some time later this week. Seller says he replaced them before they were ever used.

Didn't know about the seat though. I may do that too.

Actually I am not 100% on selling the bike. I may just keep it and put up with the inconvenience of having to lean a bit when I dismount. So far I have not found any road bikes (at a reasonable price) that fit me any better. But if I do keep it I'll still want the drop bars on it.